HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) _ A federal grand jury in Connecticut has indicted a Meriden police officer on charges of brutality and obstructing an investigation in connection with an alleged assault of a prisoner in the police department lockup in 2010.

Twenty-five-year-old Evan Cossette, who is the Meriden police chief’s son, was indicted Wednesday by a Hartford federal court grand jury. He is to be arraigned Nov. 20.

The charges allege Cossette pushed Pedro Temich in a police department jail cell, causing Temich to fall and hit his head on a concrete bench. Temich suffered a severe head gash and lost consciousness.

Cossette is accused of obstruction for allegedly making false statements about the incident, which was caught on videotape.
There’s no phone listing for Cossette. His lawyer didn’t immediately return a message Wednesday.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)